Acquisition Information

Mathews County was named for Thomas Mathews, of Norfolk, the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1790 when the county
was formed from Gloucester County.

Swiss businessman, Henri Dunant, founded the Red Cross after witnessing a battle in Northern Italy in 1859. Dunant wished
to begin an organization which would care for the sick and wounded in battle. In 1864, the Geneva Convention established
the International Committee of the Red Cross and in 1901 Dunant received the first Nobel Peace Prize. In 1881, Clara Barton
established the American Red Cross to aid in domestic relief efforts due to disaster. The Mathews County (Va.) Red Cross Chapter
was organized May 12, 1917 with Mrs. Robert Hoskins as chairman; Miss Alice Healy, Secretary; and W. B. Smith, Treasurer.

The Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane hit Mathews County, Virginia on August 23rd, 1933, causing catastrophic damage. The storm
was first noticed when it was east of the Windward Islands. By August 18th, the tropical storm was 900 miles east of Puerto
Rico and within 150 miles of Bermuda, on August 21st it became a hurricane. On August 23rd at 9:20AM, the storm changed track
and passed over Norfolk, Virginia and moved north. A second hurricane hit the mid-Atlantic just over a week later. The 1933
hurricane season left a destructive path all the way into Pennsylvania and remained the worst series of storms on record until
Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Most records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

The bulk of the collection consists of disaster registration and redistribution cards, 1933-1934. The records are arranged
alphabetically by surname of relief recipient. Information recorded in the disaster registration cards includes location of
disaster relief operation; family surname; names and ages of family members; race; owner or renter of dwelling; predisaster
address; current address; items needed (clothing, food, shelter, transportation, medical care, etc.) Should the request have
been deemed valid by the Red Cross representative, a disaster redistribution card was filed with the disaster registration
card listing the quantity and type of relief items the family received.